Along with her twin sister Sarah, Hannah Toftey (13) performs much of the guard play for the Vikings this winter.
The Vikings played two games this past week, losing one and winning one. The squad will get little rest as they head into the teeth of their schedule before Section 7A play begins, which is only a little over one month away.
Floodwood wasted little time in setting the tone for the basketball game against the Cook County Vikings on Friday the 13th in a match played at home.
The Polar Bears used a full court press to take an early 16-0 lead, stunning the Vikings, who couldn’t handle the prickly heat.
“We had to fight back from behind at the beginning of the game after the Floodwood press caused turnovers which created easy buckets for them,” said head coach Kelly Senty. “Too many turnovers by us and too many offensive boards by Floodwood made it a tough game to win.”
The Vikings, who were without Sophie Eliasen who was out with an injury, fell in the contest 64-29.
Viking senior center Emily Jacobsen scored the Vikings’ first four points on nice moves inside, and Sarah Toftey put in a couple of buckets, but the Vikings received little scoring from the team’s other players throughout the game.
“We had spurts of playing hard and girls diving after the ball and playing team defense,” Coach Senty said. “Maya McHugh and Hannah Toftey played well defensively, setting the intensity of what is expected on defense.”
Jacobsen led the team scoring with 15 points; Sarah Toftey had 6, Bayley Cox 3, Maya McHugh 2, Alyssa Spry 2 and Hannah Toftey 1.
Vikings come from behind against Ely
The Vikings had little time to forget about the loss to Floodwood because the next day they boarded a bus to travel to Ely to play the always-tough Timberwolves. It was a tough game, but this time the Vikings prevailed, winning 56-49.
Ely led 32-26 at the half, but Coach Senty said her squad picked up their play, coming together as a team for the win.
“The girls played with intensity, focus and gave everything they had,” said Senty. “They finally started to click as a team and played the way they are capable of.
“They left everything they had on that court on Saturday. The girls were after every loose ball and did not waver when we were down. Battling back and coming through with a win was a much-needed momentum boost for the team and I am really proud of the girls.”
The coach also pointed out the play of several leaders on the team.
“Sarah (Toftey) is starting to look for her shot and Emily (Jacobsen) was fearless on the boards. Alyssa (Spry) also got some solid minutes throughout the game and is showing that she is ready to play at the varsity level.
“Overall it was a great team effort,” she said.
Sophie Eliasen was cleared to play against the Timberwolves and led the team in scoring with 17 points. Emily Jacobsen and Sarah Toftey each had 15 points, Hannah Toftey 4, Maya McHugh 2, and Abbie Crawford had 2 points in the game.
Next up are the Northeast Range squad who will travel to Cook County on Jan. 19 to play the Vikings in a game that starts at 4:45 p.m. Come out and cheer on your Vikings!
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